UISD teachers urge support from public for rescinding salary freeze

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Published
7:00 pm CDT, Monday, June 17, 2013

To the editor:

We are teachers. This year, hundreds of students walked through our classroom doors, and every year we teach them lessons; engage them; question them; assess them; and evaluate them over and over again in one single class period.

We listen; counsel; console; mediate; promote; encourage; and assist them in any way we can.

We write curriculums; organize field trips; work on Saturdays; stay late; get to work early; meet with parents; mentor; write reports; make lesson plans; spend our own money on materials; and put in hours beyond the specified work day. All teachers do these things and more.

As parents and taxpayers, we put teachers on a pedestal because we know how much they do for students and we know how much they stress; how much they love; and how much they parent and build up.

We love our jobs and say this because, for three years now, teachers in UISD have been stretched so, so thin.

Our hours increased; our insurance prices have risen; we’ve gone without a salary raise (not even the small ones promised in our base salary pay scale); and now we’re asked to vote for the bond (which really is necessary) that will increase our taxes.

We need our board to listen to our voice and work with us to change this.

If you are a product of the public school system; a taxpayer in the UISD district; count on teachers to be there for your children; admire the work a teacher does; had a teacher change your life; had a teacher work hard with your child; or saw a teacher do something remarkable, please attend these very important board meetings on June 19 and July 17 at 5:30 p.m. at the SAC to show support for the teachers in your community.

We are asking for fair pay for the work education professionals do. We are not asking for a handout. We are not asking for a simple speaking time.

We are asking that the board open up dialogue with teachers, parents, students and taxpayers and give us a fair and equitable pay raise that will compensate teachers adequately for the work they do.

We need all the help we can get from teachers and community members alike.